Those too young to have gone to residential schools say they too are affected

They are too young to have gone to the church-run residential schools that forced generations of aboriginals to abandon their language and culture.

But today's First Nations youth say the schools the federal government sent their ancestors to have cast a long shadow over their families and their communities.

"I wasn't able to learn my language. That was a big thing for me growing up," said Nicole York, 23, whose parents, grandparents and other relatives attended the schools.

"Because of the way my dad was treated ... not that he didn't want to teach me how to speak Cree, but for so many years he was forced not to, so for the longest time he never spoke to us in Cree."

York, who recently graduated from the University of Winnipeg, grew up on the Norway House reserve in northern Manitoba where, despite its remoteness, aboriginal culture and tradition had somehow been all but erased.

"So many teachings were lost because of the residential schools. We've just started having our powwows again. Norway House was very Christianized for a very long time."

Shylo Swan, 26, feels residential schools also took a toll by forcibly removing children from their parents during their crucial learning years.

"How are they supposed to know how to parent their child if they weren't taught from their own?" she asked.

Swan and York both talk about ripple effects far beyond the physical and sexual abuse that were widespread at the schools. They say the fact that generations of native students were essentially told that everything they believed in was wrong has caused many of their relatives to suffer self-doubt.

"The whole idea of keeping quiet and not saying anything and just trying to hide (your feelings), it's really sad," York said.

If there is a silver lining to the residential school legacy, it appears to be a renewed determination among many young aboriginals to protect their First Nations heritage.

"We have to teach our people ... to keep our culture and keep our language and teach the generations that are coming," Swan said.

"We can start trying to build up and bring back what we lost. I think this is a fresh new beginning."

Canadian Press

Blazes 'so, so close'

Raging forest fires threaten northern towns

By ROSS ROMANIUK, SUN MEDIA

More than 500 firefighters are battling five raging forest blazes in northern Manitoba, while there's no word on when 730 evacuees will be able to return to their homes.

The most dangerous situations are in Norway House, where a blaze has burned perilously close to homes, and in the area of Sherridon, northeast of Flin Flon, where more than 100 firefighters are desperately trying to beat back flames that have nearly lapped at a school and other properties.

"It is so, so close to so many places," Premier Gary Doer said yesterday of the Sherridon fire, after returning to Winnipeg from a flight to see some of the severe blazes that have burned about 35,000 hectares.

"The fire was just right at the doorstep of the school, right at the doorstep of campgrounds -- and just missed a transformer, and was abutting gas tanks at a municipal area for trucks and maintenance."

Crews restored Sherridon's electricity late Saturday night after power had been knocked out when the fire damaged two hydro lines.

A shed, an old cabin and a boat have been destroyed there, though no homes have burned "yet -- touch wood," Doer added, noting the province expects to spend up to $10 million in the next 10 days fighting the fires -- easily surpassing Manitoba Conservation's $14-million budget for the work this year.

BURNING WOOD, MONEY

"We're definitely burning wood and burning money, but the most important part is to protect property and people."

About 100 firefighters have come from Ontario to battle the blazes, and another 30 from Alberta.

Planes from Ontario and Minnesota are taking part with 15 water bombers and 30 helicopters to try to suppress not only the fires in Sherridon and Norway House, but also blazes near St. Theresa Point, Waasagomach and Grand Rapids.

The fire north of Grand Rapids has prompted RCMP to shut down Highway 6 three times in recent days due to a loss of visibility caused by thick smoke. The highway was closed yesterday from Grand Rapids to Ponton.

Following an initial evacuation that saw 2,600 people leave their homes, the 730 remaining away include more than 450 from St. Theresa Point, about 50 from Sherridon and 218 from Waasagomach. Most of the evacuees are at hotels in Winnipeg, Brandon and Portage la Prairie.

Manitoba has had 172 forest fires this spring, above the 20-year average of 154 this time of year and way up from the 88 that had burned by the beginning of June in 2007.

Winnipeg Sun

Political fight leaves kids in cold

Updated: Thu May. 01 2008 18:35:04

ctvwinnipeg.ca

Government infighting has families in a northern community in anguish about how to best care for their children.

The Norway House Cree Nation has told the families of children with special needs that they may be forced to give up their children because the First Nation can no longer pay for their care, and federal and provincial governments can't agree on who should pay.

For mother Crystal Hart, it means she may have to say good-bye to her daughter, Priscilla.

"I want her to get the services that she can get," she said while wiping tears from her eyes.

Priscilla Hart has Ritscher-Schinzel Syndrome. She can't speak or eat and needs to be fed through a tube. It's constant care that requires the help of a respite worker, who cares for Pricilla when her parents go to work.

The Norway House Cree Nation has been paying for those services, which are required by 37 children on the reserve.

However, the band said the money has run out and the services will end May 31.

"Bureaucracy is what you call a nightmare, I guess," said band councillor Mike Muswagon. "Trying to get what you can for your community and for your people."

Muswagon said the First Nation has been fighting for funding from the province and the federal government for years. He said each side argues the other should pay for Status Indian children.

It's a familiar story. In 2005, the community rallied around another sick child named Jordan River Anderson.

Jordan spent the first part of his life hooked up to machines in a Winnipeg hospital. When he was two years old, doctors were ready to send him to a medical foster home, but for two years provincial and federal government officials argued over who should pay for it. They couldn't even decide who would cover the cost of a special showerhead he needed. Jordan never left the hospital. Jordan died in February, 2005. He was five years old.

In December Members of Parliament in Ottawa vowed never to let that happen again. They unanimously voted in favour of a private members motion called Jordan's Principle; children should come first when it comes to funding disputes.

On December 12, 2007, Minister of Health Tony Clement wrote this letter of support:

"Indian and Northern Affairs Canada is working closely with Health Canada as well as provincial and First Nations partners to ensure that jurisdictional issues do not impact a child's quality of care. Governments need to work together to see that First Nations and Inuit children have access to the same services available to other children."

Charlene Ducharme works with the Kinosao Sipi Minisowin Agency, a social agency on the reserve, and said she has yet to see Jordan's Principle in action. She said the children of Norway House deserve the same care that other Manitoba children get.

"Our premier said Manitoba would be the first one to implement Jordan's Principle... we're still waiting."

In an interview with CTV News Manitoba Health Minister Keri Irvin Ross said the provincial government is not required to pay for the children's care. "These issues are a federal responsibility," she said. "We need to make sure the federal government is held accountable for it, but we are committed to supporting this community and these children."

But not with any funding. Irvin Ross said the provincial government is offering its support by working with the Norway House Cree Nation in its negotiations with Ottawa. Irvin Ross said the fact that the provincial government is at the negotiating table is "new ground", and is a signal of its support for Jordan's Principle. She said the federal government has yet to respond to numerous letters requesting its involvement in finding a solution.

CTV News contacted Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. In an email, Senior Communications Advisor Patricia Valladao said "I was informed that we've recently met with our partners including the province on this matter, and we're working diligently to respond on an urgent basis. We will be meeting with the First Nation very soon."

Neither the federal or provincial response is very reassuring for the Harts. Little Priscilla's parents said they may quit their jobs to care for her. They said they'll find a way to make it work and keep their family together.

With a report from CTV's Caroline Barghout.

CTV Winnipeg

Mass Graves Revealed of Indian Children in Canadian Schools

By Brenda Norrell,
Posted on Fri Apr 18th, 2008 at 09:57:53 PM EST

The horror of the genocide in Canada's Indian Residential Schools became public, as the locations of 28 mass graves of Indian children were revealed.

An unknown number of Indian children died in captivity at Indian Residential Schools in Canada.

The murders included children killed in electric chairs. Some of the bodies were incinerated in the school furnaces, while others were buried in mass graves.

Eyewitness Sylvester Greene described how he helped bury a young Inuit boy at the United Church's Edmonton residential school in 1953.

"We were told never to tell anyone by Jim Ludford, the Principal, who got me and three other boys to bury him. But a lot more kids got buried all the time in that big grave next to the school."

The location of mass graves of residential school children was revealed by the Independent Tribunal Established Squamish Nation Territory ("Vancouver, Canada") on April 10.

At a public ceremony and press conference held outside the colonial "Indian Affairs" building in downtown Vancouver, the Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared (FRD) released a list of twenty eight mass graves across Canada holding the remains of untold numbers of aboriginal children who died in Indian Residential Schools.

The list was distributed to the world media and to United Nations agencies, as the first act of the newly-formed International Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide in Canada (IHRTGC), a non-governmental body established by indigenous elders.

In a statement read by FRD spokesperson Eagle Strong Voice, it was declared that the IHRTGC would commence its investigations on April 15, 2008, the fourth Annual Aboriginal Holocaust Memorial Day. This inquiry will involve international human rights observers from Guatemala and Cyprus, and will convene aboriginal courts of justice where those persons and institutions responsible for the death and suffering of residential school children will be tried and sentenced. (The complete Statement and List of Mass Graves is reproduced below).

Eagle Strong Voice and IHRTGC elders will present the Mass Graves List at the United Nations on April 19, and will ask United Nations agencies to protect and monitor the mass graves as part of a genuine inquiry and judicial prosecution of those responsible for this Canadian Genocide.

For more information: http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/, or write to the IHRTGC at: genocidetribunal@yahoo.ca Issued on Squamish Territory, 10 April, 2008, under the authority of Hereditary Chief Kiapilano

Press Statement:

Mass Graves of Residential School Children Identified – Independent Inquiry Launched

We are gathered today to publicly disclose the location of twenty eight mass graves of children who died in Indian Residential Schools across Canada, and to announce the formation of an independent, non-governmental inquiry into the death and disappearance of children in these schools.

We estimate that there are hundreds, and possibly thousands, of children buried in these grave sites alone. The Catholic, Anglican and United Church, and the government of Canada, operated the schools and hospitals where these mass graves are located. We therefore hold these institutions and their officers legally responsible and liable for the deaths of these children.

We have no confidence that the very institutions of church and state that are responsible for these deaths can conduct any kind of impartial or real inquiry into them. Accordingly, as of April 15, 2008, we are establishing an independent, non governmental inquiry into the death and disappearance of Indian residential school children across Canada.

This inquiry shall be known as The International Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide in Canada (IHRTGC), and is established under the authority of the following hereditary chiefs, who shall serve as presiding judges of the Tribunal:Hereditary Chief Kiapilano of the Squamish NationChief Louis Daniels (Whispers Wind), Anishinabe Nation Chief Svnoyi Wohali (Night Eagle), Cherokee NationLillian Shirt, Clan Mother, Cree Nation Elder Ernie Sandy, Anishinabe (Ojibway) Nation Hereditary Chief Steve Sampson, Chemainus Nation Ambassador Chief Red Jacket of Turtle IslandToday, we are releasing to this Tribunal and to the people of the world the enclosed information on the location of mass graves connected to Indian residential schools and hospitals in order to prevent the destruction of this crucial evidence by the Canadian government, the RCMP and the Anglican, Catholic and United Church of Canada.We call upon indigenous people on the land where these graves are located to monitor and protect these sites vigilantly, and prevent their destruction by occupational forces such as the RCMP and other government agencies.Our Tribunal will commence on April 15 by gathering all of the evidence, including forensic remains, that is necessary to charge and indict those responsible for the deaths of the children buried therein.Once these persons have been identified and detained, they will be tried and sentenced in indigenous courts of justice established by our Tribunal and under the authority of hereditary chiefs.

As a first step in this process, the IHRTGC will present this list of mass graves along with a statement to the United Nations in New York City on April 19, 2008. The IHRTGC will be asking the United Nations to declare these mass graves to be protected heritage sites, and will invite international human rights observers to monitor and assist its work.

Issued by the Elders and Judges of the IHRTGC Interim Spokesperson: Eagle Strong VoiceEmail: genocidetribunal@yahoo.ca pager: 1-888-265-1007IHRTGC Sponsors include The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared, The Truth Commission into Genocide in Canada, the Defensoria Indigenia of Guatemala, Canadians for the Separation of Church and State, and a confederation of indigenous elders across Canada and Turtle Island

Locations of Mass Graves at former Indian Residential Schools and Hospitals across Canada

A. British Columbia

1. Port Alberni: Presby terian- United Church school (1895-1973), now occupied by the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council (NTC) office, Kitskuksis Road. Grave site is a series of sinkhole rows in hills 100 metres due west of the NTC building, in thick foliage, past an unused water pipeline. Children also interred at Tseshaht reserve cemetery, and in wooded gully east of Catholic cemetery on River Road.

2. Alert Bay: St. Michael’s Anglican school (1878-1975), situated on Cormorant Island offshore from Port McNeill. Presently building is used by Namgis First Nation. Site is an overgrown field adjacent to the building, and also under the foundations of the present new building, constructed during the 1960’s. Skeletons seen “between the walls”.

3. Kuper Island: Catholic school (1890-1975), offshore from Chemainus. Land occupied by Penelakut Band. Former building is destroyed except for a staircase. Two grave sites: one immediately south of the former building, in a field containing a conventional cemetery; another at the west shoreline in a lagoon near the main dock.

4. Nanaimo Indian Hospital: Indian Affairs and United Church experimental facility (1942-1970) on Department of National Defense land. Buildings now destroyed. Grave sites are immediately east of former buildings on Fifth avenue, adjacent to and south of Malaspina College.

5. Mission: St. Mary’s Catholic school (1861-1984), adjacent to and north of Lougheed Highway and Fraser River Heritage Park. Original school buildings are destroyed, but many foundations are visible on the grounds of the Park.In this area there are two grave sites: a) immediately adjacent to former girls’ dormitory and present cemetery for priests, and a larger mass grave in an artificial earthen mound, north of the cemetery among overgrown foliage and blackberry bushes, and b) east of the old school grounds, on the hilly slopes next to the field leading to the newer school building which is presently used by the Sto:lo First Nation. Hill site is 150 metres west of building.

6. North Vancouver: Squamish (1898-1959) and Sechelt (1912-1975) Catholic schools, buildings destroyed. Graves of children who died in these schools interred in the Squamish Band Cemetery, North Vancouver.

7. Sardis: Coqualeetza Methodist-United Church school (1889-1940), then experimental hospital run by federal government (1940-1969). Native burial site next to Sto:lo reserve and Little Mountain school, also possibly adjacent to former school-hospital building.

8. Cranbrook: St. Eugene Catholic school (1898-1970), recently converted into a tourist “resort” with federal funding, resulting in the covering-over of a mass burial site by a golf course in front of the building. Numerous grave sites are around and under this golf course.

9. Williams Lake: Catholic school (1890-1981), buildings destroyed but foundations intact, five miles south of city. Grave sites reported north of school grounds and under foundations of tunnel-like structure.

10. Meares Island (Tofino): Kakawis-Christie Catholic school (1898-1974). Buildings incorporated into Kakawis Healing Centre. Body storage room reported in basement, adjacent to burial grounds south of school.

11. Kamloops: Catholic school (1890-1978). Buildings intact. Mass grave south of school, adjacent to and amidst orchard. Numerous burials witnessed there.

12. Lytton: St. George’s Anglican school (1901-1979). Graves of students flogged to death, and others, reported under floorboards and next to playground.

13. Fraser Lake: Lejac Catholic school (1910-1976), buildings destroyed. Graves reported under old foundations and between the walls.

Alberta:1. Edmonton: United Church school (1919-1960), presently site of the Poundmaker Lodge in St. Albert. Graves of children reported south of former school site, under thick hedge that runs north-south, adjacent to memorial marker.2. Edmonton: Charles Camsell Hospital (1945-1967), building intact, experimental hospital run by Indian Affairs and United Church. Mass graves of children from hospital reported south of building, near staff garden.3. Saddle Lake: Bluequills Catholic school (1898-1970), building intact, skeletons and skulls observed in basement furnace. Mass grave reported adjacent to school.4. Hobbema: Ermineskin Catholic school (1916-1973), five intact skeletons observed in school furnace. Graves under former building foundations.Manitoba:1. Brandon: Methodist-United Church school (1895-1972). Building intact. Burials reported west of school building.2. Portage La Prairie: Presbyterian- United Church school (1895-1950). Children buried at nearby Hillside Cemetery. 3. Norway House: Methodist-United Church school (1900-1974). “Very old” grave site next to former school building, demolished by United Church in 2004.Ontario:1. Thunder Bay: Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital, still in operation. Experimental centre. Women and children reported buried adjacent to hospital grounds.2. Sioux Lookout: Pelican Lake Catholic school (1911-1973). Burials of children in mound near to school.3. Kenora: Cecilia Jeffrey school, Presbyterian- United Church (1900-1966). Large burial mound east of former school.4. Fort Albany: St. Anne’s Catholic school (1936-1964). Children killed in electric chair buried next to school. 5. Spanish: Catholic school (1883-1965). Numerous graves.6. Brantford: Mohawk Institute, Anglican church (1850-1969), building intact. Series of graves in orchard behind school building, under rows of trees.7. Sault Ste. Marie: Shingwauk Anglican school (1873-1969), some intact buildings. Several graves of children reported on grounds of old school.Quebec:1. Montreal: Allan Memorial Institute, McGill University, still in operation since opening in 1940. MKULTRA experimental centre. Mass grave of children killed there north of building, on southern slopes of Mount Royal behind stone wall.

Sources:- Eyewitness accounts from survivors of these institutions, catalogued in Hidden from History: The Canadian Holocaust (2nd ed., 2005) by Kevin Annett. Other accounts are from local residents. See http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/ - Documents and other material from the Department of Indian Affairs RG 10 microfilm series on Indian Residential Schools in Koerner Library, University of B.C.- Survey data and physical evidence obtained from grave sites in Port Alberni, Mission, and other locations.This is a partial list and does not include all of the grave sites connected to Indian residential Schools and hospitals across Canada. In many cases, children who were dying of diseases were sent home to die by school and church officials, and the remains of other children who died at the school were incinerated in the residential school furnaces.

This information is submitted by The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared (FRD) to the world media, the United Nations, and to the International Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide in Canada (IHRTGC). The IHRTGC will commence its investigations on April 15, 2008 on Squamish Nation territory.

For more information on the independent inquiry into genocide in Canada being conducted by the IHRTGC, write to: genocidetribunal@yahoo.ca10 April, 2008Squamish Nation Territory (“ Vancouver, Canada ”)

The Narcosphere

Tories threaten to drop native human-rights bill

Opposition amendments unsupportable, Indian Affairs Minister says

BILL CURRY

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

April 15, 2008 at 4:54 AM EDT

OTTAWA — The Conservative government is threatening to walk away from its own native human-rights legislation, saying that recent amendments from the opposition are unsupportable.

Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said yesterday that new clauses inserted into government legislation could allow chiefs and council to ignore human-rights complaints by citing their community's collective rights.

"I'm not happy with the amendments," Mr. Strahl said. "What you want to be careful of is ... that you don't just say [that] if the chief decides on his reserve, on his cultural background, 'the Canadian Human Rights Act doesn't apply because of our cultural traditions.' Well, that should be a tough proof."

The government standoff with the opposition could mean the proposed law may never be put to a vote and simply dies. Combined with the Conservative government's decision to ignore a recent House of Commons motion in favour of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the opposition is questioning the government's sincerity when it comes to aboriginal human rights.

"I think it's part of a larger agenda directed at assimilation," Liberal MP Anita Neville said.

The legislation, known as C-21, is one of the government's main aboriginal initiatives. It seeks to close a loophole dating back to when the Canadian Human Rights Act first became law 31 years ago. That law passed with just one exemption: It did not apply on reserves. It was supposed to be temporary.

As a result, individual aboriginals have not been allowed to file complaints with the Canadian Human Rights Commission against band councils and the federal government. Band decisions over key issues such as housing, education and membership could all be challenged if C-21 became law.

The Indian Affairs Minister also opposes an amendment creating a three-year delay before the law takes effect.

"They should be covered now. Today. And any delay is unfortunate," he said.

But Vancouver lawyer Allan Donovan, who specializes in aboriginal law, says three years is not unreasonable.

"It really isn't a particularly long transition period," he said.

Mr. Donovan acknowledged some of the wording used by the opposition to protect existing rights is unusual, but expressed surprise that both sides could not find more acceptable language.

The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples has said human-rights legislation could be used to take on unaccountable chiefs and ultimately have the Indian Act struck down.

Marcel Balfour, a Manitoba chief who was elected by campaigning against alleged abuses of his predecessors, said Ottawa must take the time to ensure it gets the balance right between collective and individual rights. The Norway House Cree Nation chief pointed out that he was able to win an election on issues of accountability and said he takes offence when the congress attacks native chiefs.

"My people voted for me," he said. "I certainly make sure that I don't run roughshod over my people and destroy their human rights."

Globe and Mail

Clowning it up is serious fun

By: Alexandra Paul

Updated: March 27 at 02:00 AM CDT

Take 400 school kids, add 16 jugglers, hip-hop artists and high-wire trapeze acrobats. Put SSRqem all together for a week in northern Manitoba.

What do you have?

A bunch of artists clowning around to show kids how to feel good about having fun.

Nearly half of the 1,165 students at the Helen Betty Osborne School in Norway House signed up for the week-long workshops on circus arts. And everyone is having fun.

It's a private social program called the International Children's Festival Circus and Magic Partnership, a $120,000 event sponsored by governments, Manitoba Hydro and even Beaver Bus Lines.

It's also a story about what it means to kids to have a travelling troupe of circus artists and other performers take a bus ride 800 kilometres north to see them.

Next week, the troupe's in Winnipeg doing the same thing at Gordon Bell High School.

In Norway House, Grade 5 student Chadwin Scatch is having a ball this week.

The 11-year-old is studying drama and hip hop and he said he loves it. "To have this stuff at the school is pretty exciting," Scatch said in a telephone interview.

Scatch is happy to be in school at 8 a.m. and his parents are even happier because they don't have to coax him to go.

Norway House has a housing crunch. At Scatch's house there are 11 people sharing a two-bedroom apartment. Both his parents work full time, and getting everyone up and out on time takes planning.

School principal Agnes Mowatt said the event is the talk of the Cree First Nation. Parents are dropping by the school to check it out. Norway House residents are trying to get the troupe to perform with the kids in the final show but there's no word on that yet.

While nobody is saying Circus and Magic can reverse the dismally high school drop out rate (50 per cent) among aboriginal kids in Canada, it's a feat to keep kids in school when they're on vacation.

"This type of activity is good. It helps keep kids in school and it'll help them stay connected (to the school), Mowat said.

The festival, now in it's eleventh year, is the brainchild of Neal Rempel. He signs on performers and does logistics. There's a puppeteer from Hollywood and a circus performer is arriving from London, England, for the Winnipeg workshops.

Rempel modeled the program after Clowns Without Borders, an international program that takes circus performers into the Third World to teach kids the art of juggling and walking a tight rope.

"These kids are isolated. Not just geographically but socially, too. They don't get a lot from the world of the arts," Rempel said.

In return, kids get the rush of being applauded.

"Everybody needs that moment... Where they're standing there and everyone is saying they are great," Rempel said.

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca

Winnipeg Free Press

Drilling suspended on Minago Nickel Project of Victory Nickel Inc.

NORWAY HOUSE CREE NATION, MB, Feb. 22 /CNW/ - Today, the Norway House
Cree Nation ("Norway House") announced that they were pleased with the
Manitoba Government's decision to suspend a drilling permit it issued to
Victory Nickel Inc. for the Minago Project. The decision came after the
Manitoba Director of Mines acknowledged the absence of notice or consultation
with Norway House prior to issuing the approval.
On February 21st, the Chief and Council of Norway House, met with
representatives from Manitoba's Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and
Mines and learned that three permits had been issued to Victory Nickel without
any prior notice or consultation. Most notably, one of the permits was a
borehole licence which is required to conduct exploration drilling planned for
early 2008.
Chief Marcel Balfour pointed out that Norway House took issue with the
issuance of these permits since under section 35 of the Constitution Act,
1982, governments are required to consult First Nations when they are
contemplating conduct that may adversely impact aboriginal or treaty rights.
Chief Balfour stated, "We made it clear to the representatives from Manitoba
that they had broken the law by issuing those permits without properly
consulting us. We are very pleased that Manitoba has suspended the drilling as
this is a good first step towards developing our relationship with the Crown
on mining issues."
Further discussions are planned between Norway House Cree Nation and
Manitoba towards development of an appropriate consultation and accommodation
process on mining in the First Nation's traditional lands. However, talks with
Victory Nickel remain at a standstill. "They still refuse to engage with us on
a without prejudice basis so we will simply focus our concerns on dialogue
with Crown," said Chief Balfour.

Norway House Cree Nation is located at the northern side of Lake Winnipeg
in the province of Manitoba with a membership of over five thousand. It is a
signatory to Treaty 5 with the federal government and has had its treaty
rights confirmed by Canada and Manitoba in the 1977 Northern Flood Agreement
and in the 1997 Master Implementation Agreement.

Victory Nickel Inc. (TSX:Ni) is a Toronto-based publicly traded mineral
exploration company that wishes to develop the Minago Project, a nickel
deposit located in the traditional territory of the Norway House Cree Nation.


For further information: Chief Marcel Balfour, Norway House Cree Nation,
(204) 232-9990


CNW Group